Tom Brady is a huge Aaron Rodgers fan. The New England Patriots quarterback, who many believe is the greatest of all time, gushed on Monday about what the Green Bay Packers quarterback can do on the field.
“I think he does things that no one in the league has ever done, or can do, just because of his physical ability,” Brady said Monday morning during his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI (h/t Mike Reiss of ESPN). “Some of the plays he makes are just phenomenal.”
There wasn’t much Rodgers did Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys that wasn’t phenomenal. Aside from one uncharacteristic throw that led to his first interception since mid November, Rodgers was about as precise as we’ve seen from anyone this year. His pinpoint accuracy was on display throughout the contest, as was his ability to escape pressure while keeping eyes downfield to find open receivers.
All this culminated with his incredible final throw to set up the game-winning field goal with seconds remaining — a rope to the sideline that required some tidy footwork by tight end Jared Cook to turn into a catch (watch here).
Even more remarkably, as we’ve all likely noted to ourselves and our friends as we watch Rodgers work, he makes it look so easy.
This is something Brady touched on as well.
“I think he makes everything look so simple because he has such an efficient delivery,” Brady said on the program. “Everything really looks effortless with him, which is the amazing part. He’s definitely working hard, but he’s making hard look easy; it’s a very effortless style he plays with. The velocity of the ball, the placement of the ball, I mean, he’s just an incredible player. He works very hard at it, he’s a very talented player, and he’s just having an incredible season.”
And just like the rest of us, Brady said he stays up whenever he can to watch Rodgers play.
“I always love watching his tape, admiring the things he can do, because I can’t do many of those things. … Whenever he’s on, I usually stay up and watch.”
There isn’t a higher compliment one pro can say to another than that. That’s the kind of comment reserved for the likes of Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Barry Sanders. That’s the kind of comment reserved for those special players that come along only once in a generation.
These two quarterbacks could face one another in a few weeks if both the Packers and Patriots win their respective conference championship games this upcoming weekend.